Red Hot Poker

Poker

Vital Statistics

Name

Red Hot Poker or Torch Lily

Latin Name

Kniphofia spp

Description

The most conspicuous characteristic feature of this plant, is the perfect arrangement of the flowers. The leaves grow to a length of about 1 m; the flowering stem, which grows to 1,5 m in height, carries the inflorescence which consist of slender, tube-shaped flowers. The flowerheads are pale to dull red at first, but turn to yellow or green-yellow when they open in late summer.

Habitat

The Red Hote Poker can be found growing in grassveld and marshes and is found from the Western Cape Province north through to the Limpopo Province.

Field Notes

There are a number of Poker species including K. linearifolia, K. uvaria, K. multiflora, K. Caulescens.

The Red Hot Poker is a South African plant that is now found in many parts of the world, having been imported for its dramatic beauty and for the fact that the flowers last for a long time.